


i put a spell on you

by amirlywritingfanficnow



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: 911 Week 2020, Dad Evan "Buck" Buckley, Haunted Houses, POV Eddie Diaz, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Soft Eddie Diaz, Soft Evan "Buck" Buckley, eddie diaz gets a break 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:20:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25134523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amirlywritingfanficnow/pseuds/amirlywritingfanficnow
Summary: Eddie Diaz absolutely loved Halloween. Ever since he was an excitable eight year old boy he’d been known to go all out for the holiday. Twenty-four years and a son had not changed that.or4k+ words of Eddie Diaz being happy, scaring his friends, and loving Halloween.
Relationships: Athena Grant/Bobby Nash, Christopher Diaz & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Henrietta "Hen" Wilson/Karen Wilson, Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Comments: 9
Kudos: 147





	i put a spell on you

**Author's Note:**

> 911 Week 2020, Day 2: "you scared the shit out of me!" + Fun
> 
> this started in my head as the firefam going to a haunted house and turned into 4k+ words about eddie diaz loving halloween and playing pranks and scaring his friends and then it turned into fluff somewhere along the way too
> 
> but eddie diaz deserves happiness and he gets it!
> 
> also this was fun to write because i work in a haunted house every year!

Eddie Diaz absolutely  _ loved  _ Halloween. Ever since he was an excitable eight year old boy he’d been known to go all out for the holiday. Twenty-four years and a son had not changed that.etting Chris involved in the festive shenanigans he pulled out every year, setting a tradition with him, only added to the excitement of everything. 

His first Halloween in Los Angeles, he’d been pretty tame at the one-eighteen, not having a lot of time to go all out, what with the new job and Shannon coming back into his life. He pulled a few pranks, mainly on Buck, and he made sure his apartment was decorated to satisfactory but that’s as far as it had gone that year. The next Halloween was a hard time for him and he definitely was not in the mood for pranks and haunted houses, but like always, no matter how bad things are, Chris and him decorate the apartment and bake cookies. Halloween was his Christmas. 

The one-eighteen was not prepared for Halloween Eddie Diaz. This year was his first Halloween season with the one-eighteen where things were calm in his life and in his head, for the most part. Christopher has been talking about Halloween since September, something a young Eddie always did, and it gives him a weird sense of pride. 

The first week of October consists of decorating the apartment. They’ve accumulated a lot of stuff over the years so it takes a few days to get everything set up. Christopher points out that their place is smaller than their house in Texas and since they have so many decorations left, they should decorate the firehouse. It’s amazing how in sync he was with his son when it came to this holiday. He’s glad Shannon hadn’t raised him to dislike Halloween as much as she had. Father-son bonding in the form of planning Halloween pranks and turning their apartment into something that resembled a haunted mansion was the best form of bonding and Eddie’s just so glad he has that.

His next shift, he walks in with the biggest grin and Hen raises an eyebrow. He just flashes her a smaller smile and ignores the questioning look, walking right past her and straight to Captain’s office. He waits for the clear to come in and stands behind a chair that’s seated in front of his desk. He shakes his head when Bobby offers him a seat.

“I’m not gonna be long, just had a silly question,” he explains. “Can I decorate the firehouse for Halloween? I have way too many decorations for my apartment and I’m sure some of the team could use the Halloween spirit around here.”

Bobby raises an eyebrow. “Halloween spirit, huh?”

“Halloween has always been my  _ Christmas. _ I go all out for Halloween the way Buck does for Christmas. It’s been like that since I was eight.” Eddie grins and he guesses he sees the ease and excitement on Eddie’s face because he’s giving him a look he can’t quite decipher. “I probably would have asked sooner but the last two Halloweens have kind of sucked, if you can remember.”

“Oh, I remember. I’m glad you’re doing okay now, though.” He smiles. “Go wild with the decorations, Diaz.” 

In a very, as many at one-eighteen would describe it,  _ Buck-like manner,  _ Eddie lights up with excitement and goes to leave. “Thanks, Cap!”

Now, he knows Bobby probably didn’t think Eddie would be starting right away but he already had three boxes of decorations in his truck and he just couldn’t wait. He gets dressed first, greets Chimney and a probie on their way in, and carries in the boxes.

“What are those?” Buck walks over to help with three containers. “Why are they so heavy?”

“Thanks.” He puts down the two boxes Buck didn’t grab and sits on top of one, out of breath. “They’re Halloween decorations! We have a lot left over so Chris said we should make the firehouse look as spooky as our apartment.”

Buck’s fond smile turns to one of doom, as if just remembering Eddie’s first year there and all of the pranks he’d played on Buck, specifically. “Are you like this every Halloween?”

“Oh, Buck, you haven’t seen anything yet. That first Halloween season here was pretty tame, and we weren’t talking last Halloween, so you have no earthly idea what’s about to happen.” Eddie smirks at the frightened look on his best friend’s face. God, does Halloween make him feel great. 

_ (And Buck.) _

Once the firehouse is decorated, Eddie can finally start focusing on the myriad of pranks he has lined up for his family. Christopher is his partner in crime for a lot of the planning but also made sure Eddie wasn’t going to prank Buck  _ too much. _

It’s not his fault Buck is just extremely jumpy and easy to scare.

The first prank he plays on Buck is something that took a lot of careful planning and sneaking around. 

See, Buck has his phobias. Eddie would never use those against him, especially anything to do with water. He knew how horrible PTSD was and would never want to trigger a flashback or panic attack. But, until the team’s horror movie marathon at Eddie’s a few days before finally revealed something actually does creep Evan Buckley out.

Like he’s said, Buck has always been jumpy and an easy target for pranks but that man had no fears. He could get Chimney with fake snakes, he could get Hen with fake props or werewolves, and Bobby jumped so high his first year when he left a flimsy rubber cockroach on his desk. 

He always had to get Buck with leftover gags. Not this year, though.

It came up when Eddie, without telling Buck what the next movie was, started to play the remake of Child’s Play and Buck cursed at the TV. 

According to Maddie, dolls had always creeped him out. Even before he’d watched the first Child’s Play, dolls had been something that Buck hated to look at or watch. When he threw out her old baby dolls when cleaning out the attic one year, Maddie happened to catch the thing on video. A video she promised to show in front of an embarrassed Evan Buckley.

He’d finally had an idea. He asked Maddie if it would be okay before asking for her help to plan it so when Maddie says it would be a good idea, she becomes yet another partner in crime. She finds an old doll online, a doll she knows would send Buck running if it talked.

Good thing it’s not gonna talk.

He first places the doll in Buck’s locker to give him the jumpscare. Buck is almost done with his shower and is going to have to put stuff away so it’s the perfect place. 

When he walks down to the locker room, Eddie grabs a rag out of a probie’s hand and starts “cleaning the truck” so he wouldn’t be noticeable to Buck. He’s close enough to the locker room to hear some things and he’s got a direct line of sight on Buck’s locker. He starts to feel like a child that pranked a teacher and was excitedly waiting for said teacher to sit down on her chair that no longer had screws. He feels like one of those class clowns and he loves it. He feels young again.

The locker opens and the doll falls on him, something he hadn’t planned on happening but it makes the reaction so much better. Hen knew about the prank, saw him put the doll in there, so she recorded it for Maddie and hopefully, with Buck’s permission of course, the internet. 

“EDDIE!” Buck screams after he flings the doll across the room with all force.

Buck is exasperated and shocked, mouth wide open, glaring at Eddie. And Eddie?

Eddie can’t stop laughing. Hen and Chimney are just as bad and Bobby is trying to keep it in to maintain a little professionalism. 

“She--she was-she wasn’t supposed to fall!” 

The prank didn’t end there. Once Buck leaves again, after demanding an apology for the heart attack he’d given him, Eddie picks up the doll and hands it to another paramedic. He instructs her to put it behind Buck as carefully and quietly as she could. Buck was currently in the loft, playing a video game with Hen and Chimney, most definitely only focused on one thing: winning. 

He holds in his laughter as Mitchie places the doll carefully on the couch behind him and waits patiently for Buck to finally give up on winning and quit the game -- which comes faster than Eddie thinks it would. 

“I’m never playing with you guys a-” Buck jumps, stopping his sentence, at the sight of the doll. 

“Very funny, Eddie!” Buck groans as he tries to slow down his heart. 

Eddie, who snuck into the bunk room to screw with him, walks out with hair that he messed up himself. “What’s very funny?” 

“Oh, stop acting like you didn’t put this  _ thing  _ here!” He shivers as he stares at it again. 

“Buck, how dare you?  _ She  _ has a name!” Eddie snickers. The frustrated look on Buck’s face just adds fuel to Eddie’s mischievous mood.

He gets other members of his team to help place the doll where Buck normally goes and by the time they’re done four calls and are in the bunk rooms ready to sleep, the doll has popped up three more times, making Buck jump every time. The last time, Buck took the doll and threw it in the trash, like that would stop it. 

He waits until Buck’s fake sleeping turns to real sleeping before he goes into action. He takes the doll from his bag, tip toes over to Buck’s bed and carefully places the doll under his blanket next to him. When he’s back in his own bunk, he shuts his eyes and doesn’t wake up until he hears Buck cursing him out.

“You were right when I said I had no earthly idea what I was in for, oh my God, Eddie. I am not ready for the rest of the month. I woke up to a mouth full of  _ doll hair!  _ Thing was looking at me right in the eyes when I woke up, so if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go burn that demon th-”

Buck’s rant is cut off by Eddie’s laughter again but this time, Buck cracks. The otherwise empty bunk room was suddenly full of laughter. 

After they calm down, Buck smiles fondly at Eddie. “God, Eds, you’re so lucky I love seeing you happy…”

Eddie’s response to that is a blush and a shy smile before he clears his throat. “You wanna help me get Hen?”

  
  


-

The rest of the week, Eddie ends up pranking his entire team at least twice. Eddie gets Bobby in the shower by putting red Kool-Aid in the shower head so when Bobby turns on the water, he’s sprayed by what Eddie wanted to look like blood. When Bobby asks about it, hair stained red, Eddie lies and says that it was meant for Chimney. It gets him off the hook but he has a feeling he would have gotten away with it anyway.

The whole team, Athena, Carla, and even his Abuela have pointed out a few times how happy he looks. He really can’t explain  _ why  _ October makes things feel easier, especially when the last two have been particularly shitty, but it probably has something to do with the weather and the kid-like aspect of Halloween that makes him feel less burdened by the weight of the world. He can just let himself enjoy the pranks, the decorations, the special time with his kid that loves Halloween just as much as him.

Another huge reason he loves the holiday was haunted houses. 

He was one of those people that got a kick out of being scared and always went willingly, leading a group through the horrors and fake blood. His first date with Shannon had been at a haunted house, and even though it ended being one of the best first dates either had been on, he’s pretty sure Shannon thought he was a psychopath for going in without apprehension. 

It wasn’t just the haunted attractions that Eddie loved. There’s bonfires, cider, hot chocolate, live music, and more. The whole thing was a comfort for him and he could not wait to experience it with the family he chose in Los Angeles. 

They plan everything for the next night they’re all off for the weekend. Eddie buys tickets for the Buckley’s, much to their dismay, to pay them back for all the times they’ve treated. It throws Buck through a bit of a loop, sends him spiraling a little, and doesn’t relax until Eddie agrees to let him buy Christopher and him some hot chocolate and candy apples. 

He lets it go when they get there and Buck’s face lights up as he looks around at everything in awe. 

“Mads, do you remember we went to that farm like, an hour away from Hershey with the haunted attractions that one year? I was twelve, I think, and you took me out because I was bummed about a game or something…” Buck’s face is nostalgic and it warms Eddie’s heart even more that the magic of fall and Halloween can bring a smile like that to his face. 

“Yes! I clearly remember you kicking a clown in the face on the haunted hayride and almost pushed him off the moving tractor when he scared you.” Maddie giggled. 

“You know, I did the same thing once when I was fifteen,”

His mom still brings it up every Halloween. It probably wouldn’t have been memorable if Eddie Diaz ever actually passed the flight or fight line when it came to being scared. Most people have a fight or flight response to being scared, but Eddie never had that response. It’s not to say that he doesn’t get scared, because he does, but his response to getting scared was always to laugh. 

The one time his fight or flight instinct kicks in, he just has to fight.

Eddie, his sisters, and his parents are walking through the basement of the haunted house, Eddie leading the way, as usual. One of his sisters is crying, he can’t tell who, completely focused on his surroundings as to not get  _ too spooked.  _ His sister pulls him to a stop by accident, so he turns around for one second to tell her not to, and there’s someone in his face when he turns back. 

He screamed higher than anyone’s ever heard him and socks the actor right in the face. 

His family still doesn’t let him live it down, but hey, at least he knows he’s not the only one that’s accidentally almost severely injured a haunt actor anymore. 

Buck and Christopher are almost rolling on the ground in laughter when he’s finished the story. Athena and Bobby are asking if the guy had been okay, trying not to let it show how funny they found the story. Hen is just as bad as Buck, and Karen is trying to make sure her wife doesn’t choke on the water she’d been drinking. 

They’re a chaotic group, that’s what they must look like to those passing by, but Eddie wouldn’t change them for the world. 

When they stop near a food stand, Eddie could finally smell roasted peanuts, turkey legs, funnel cakes, the apple cider and the smells hit him straight in the heart. 

As if the fall food was calling for him, Eddie didn’t even think as he grabbed Buck’s hand and dragged him towards the line. He knows he should have probably let go of his hand when they were stopped in line or when he realized they were still holding hands, but it felt so natural and Buck hasn’t pulled away either. They’re just standing there, holding hands and talking about Christopher’s science project like this is the most normal thing in the world for them.

_ Yup, the fall definitely brought out the romantic side of him. _

Buck pays for the Diaz boys. Eddie tries to sneak his card over before Buck can notice, but of course he catches him and pushes away the card. He asks why Buck won’t let him pay, he clips back with the fact that Eddie bought their tickets, and before they could go any further, the young girl taking their order clears her throat. 

“You guys are a really cute couple, seriously, but just let him pay. We’ve got a line.” 

Eddie blushes as red as a tomato, and he expects Buck to correct the girl but he guesses he’s too caught up in winning that he doesn’t really catch it. 

Then they’re walking away with their food like nothing ever happened and he really wants to say something but he’s rendered speechless when Buck greets his son with the funnel cake and asks if he wants to share with him. They’re both smiling from ear to ear and Eddie just can’t get over how much Buck loves his son and vice versa. 

So caught up in his feelings, he forgets that he’s not just there with Buck and Christopher. Their whole team, and their families, had been waiting on them to finish up, so they could head to the haunted house entrance. 

_ Romantic feelings be damned, it’s time to scare the shit out of his friends.  _

Michael decided beforehand to stay back with Denny and Christopher, letting the others go in without a need to worry about their kids. He notices the look Michael gives Buck when he runs back to give Christopher one last hug, and he can’t deny the question in Michael’s eyes once they make eye contact. Eddie was in love and he couldn’t find it in himself to care in that moment. 

The one thing Eddie dreaded about haunted houses were the insane lines and he really underestimated LA lines. Standing for a certain amount of time can be hard for anyone, especially if you were crushed by a ladder truck and had six surgeries to fix the crushed leg. 

It’s not even him who notices Buck’s wincing at first. Bobby points it out.

“Your leg hurting ya, kid?”

“Not too much. Just the standing is getting to me, I guess, but it’s nothing new.” He grimaces when Eddie gives him a look. “My leg is healed up and I’m okay, it’s just sore, really.”

Eddie sighs. “If you need to take it slow in there, please let me know.”

Buck snorts. “The last thing I need to do is take it slow in that place.” 

“Evan Buckley, are you  _ scared _ ?”

“Psh, no, why would I be scared of an insane asylum where people are literally paid to make you piss yourself?”

May laughs from behind them. “Buck borrowed my laptop to Google videos of this so he could catch the ghosts off guard, not the other way around. One of the videos was actually a pop up scare and he screamed so loud he almost gave Bobby a heart attack, from outside.”

“Aw, Buuuuuuuck,” Eddie grins. “I’ll protect you!”

“Really, May?”

“Nothing wrong with being scared, Buckaroo!” Athena pats his shoulder and Eddie can’t help but smile at the blush on Buck’s face at all the attention.

“Guys, we’re next!” Karen grins from the front and the looks on May’s and Buck’s faces is enough to make Harry howl with laughter.

“Not so tough now, May?” 

“Shut up, Harry!”

Hen and Karen didn’t want to go first, Maddie and Chimney begged not to go first, and in response to who wanted to actually go first, Bobby and Athena actually pushed Eddie up to the front. “You know I don’t mind going first, right? You don’t have to push me.”

Buck actually pouts. “I thought you said you’d protect me!”

Like last time, Eddie doesn’t think as he grabs Buck’s hand. “Then let’s go!”

“I’m not going up front, are you crazy?” He protests, all the while still holding onto his hand and squeezing. 

“Would you rather be in then back where the ghosts and zombies can follow you? Because I’m not about to be in the back and neither are mom and Bobby.” May smirks. “Which means the back of the group would either be you or Maddie and Chimney.”

“Whatever.”

“Stop grumbling like Chris when he doesn’t wanna pick up his legos, and let’s go to the front!”

So Buck finally lets Eddie drag him to the front and because Buck wasn’t paying attention the actor greeting the group, when he looks up he jumps, causing everyone to laugh. “You know, you guys need to stop laughing. I’m not the only one that’s scared.”

“ _ I’m  _ not scared!” Harry shouts.

“Yeah, right!” Buck snorts.

“I’m  _ not  _ scared. You’re scared!”

“If you’re not scared then you go up front!” Buck argues. 

“No!”

“That’s what I thought.” 

“Alright,  _ children,  _ stop arguing and let the zombie talk.” Bobby grins.

The actor goes over the rules such as no linking arms, no smoking, no food or drink, do not touch the actors because they can’t touch you, and to enjoy. The actor makes fun of Buck a little, which oddly enough, he seemed to appreciate, and then they’re being sent in. Buck grabs for Eddie’s hand the second they’re in. 

“Of course there’s a fucking doll in the first room.” Buck hisses under his breath.

The grip on Eddie’s hand is bordering too tight but he doesn’t say anything because as soon as they’re passed the first room, it relaxes a little. Then a werewolf jumps out and scares the entire group, but Buck especially. Eddie is laughing but not just at Buck, it’s his reaction to jumpscares and Buck knows that so he doesn’t have to worry about sounding  _ too  _ mean.

Everything is just jumps and screams until it’s not. 

They’re about to exit one room when an actor who very much resembles the lady with the same initials as bowel movement jumps out and scares Buck so bad he stumbles, drops Eddie’s hand and falls back. The room is foggy so no one notices Buck or Eddie are missing until they’re in the next room, but Eddie knows how most haunted houses work and just tells them to keep going. When he reaches Buck, he’s grabbing onto his bad leg like there’s a cramp and now Eddie understands. 

He puts a hand on Buck’s shoulder to get his attention and realized how bad of an idea that was when Buck screams bloody murder and falls on his ass. Now, Eddie shouldn’t laugh. He really shouldn’t.

But he can’t stop.

“Asshole.” 

“Are--are y--you okay?” Eddie stutters out through his laughter, holding out his hand to help him up.

“ **_You scared the shit out of me!”_ ** Buck yells. 

“I’m--I’m so--sorry!” He’s cackling at this point and he feels bad, he really does, but who ever claimed he was a good friend in these instances. 

The actor, now concerned if Buck was okay and with the timing of the group behind them, walks up with a smile. She’s broken character, speaking normally, and Eddie knows it’s to not spook Buck more. Which,  _ cute.  _

“Is your friend okay?” She smiles.

Eddie is finally calming down when he looks at her and looks back to Buck. “I’m sorry for laughing, Buck, are you okay? Can you walk?”

Buck is pouting again and Eddie hates when Buck is sad but he's just embarrassed so the pout is the cutest thing in the world to him. 

“You scaring me half to death took my mind off the cramp so yeah, asshole, I can walk.” 

He grabs Eddie’s hand and lets himself be pulled up. He notices the actor looking into the last room and looking back to them. “I’m sorry for holding up your room, ma’am.”

The actor grins. “It’s okay. I’m just glad your friend is okay.” She looks at Buck. “I’m sorry I scared you so bad I gave you a cramp.”

“You’re just doing your job and I landed on it wrong, anyway. Not your fault.” He turns to Eddie. “Can get the fuck out of here now? Where’s everyone else?”

Eddie grins mischievously. “They went along without us. It’s just you and me now, buddy. In a haunted house. The only way out is through.” He knows that’s not true, he knows there’s emergency exits for people who get too scared or injured and he planned on asking the actor just that, but c’mon, he had to mess with him just one more time.

“No, no, no, I’m staying here, then. At least she’s nice.” 

Eddie laughs. “I’m kidding, man.” He looks at the girl. “You guys have an emergency exit, right?”

She laughs. “Yeah, let me get someone to escort you guys so you don’t get lost. When you’re out there, I’d suggest icing your leg if it still hurts.”

He does just as she suggests. They’re sitting on a bench and Buck is icing his leg with one hand while the other hand is loosely hanging onto Eddie’s, staring at Eddie with a cheesy grin and Eddie is doing the same. 

_ No wonder that girl thought they were a couple. _

“Hey, um,” Eddie clears his throat. “When the girl who was working at the food booth said we were a cute couple, you didn’t really correct her. Why?”

Buck’s ears go bright red and he freezes. “You- you didn’t correct her either.”

Eddie grins because he does have a point. He didn’t correct her.

“Plus, people have said it to me before. The Christmas elf that one year we took Chris to see Santa Claus, and people out on calls have asked me what it’s like to work with my boyfriend. What’s the point in correcting them and making them feel embarrassed, you know? Did it bother you? If it did, I’ll correct someone next time, promise-”

Eddie cuts off Buck’s rambling. “People say it to me, too, and I never correct them. Honestly Buck, if this many people have thought we were a couple, and neither of us have corrected any of them, it’s saying something, isn’t it?”

Buck bites his lip. “What’s it saying?” 

“That we’re pretty much a couple in all terms but official?” He laughs. “I wouldn’t mind making it official, but what do you think?”

Buck nervously grins and Eddie thinks it’s the prettiest thing in the world. 

“I think that I wouldn’t mind making it official, either.” 

Eddie can’t hold back the grin on his face anymore, he’s smiling from ear to ear, beaming. He goes to lean in for a kiss but stops himself when he catches sight of Harry and the rest of their crew walking up behind Buck. Harry has a sneaky grin on his face and puts a finger up to his mouth to tell Eddie to keep quiet.

When Harry finally reaches the two, he pounces onto Buck’s shoulders, and not for the first time tonight, Buck jumps.

_ “Alright, that’s it!”  _ Buck jumps up and Harry bolts.

“Mom! Bobby!  _ Help, please!”  _ Harry screams as Buck chases him in a circle. 

Athena laughs. “We told you not to scare him.”

**Author's Note:**

> please don't forget to kudos and comment, they make my day and make me wanna write!
> 
> hope you loved it!


End file.
